John Schinnerer – Page 2 – The Sociocracy Consulting Group

Triple Pundit looks at sociocracy for distributed leadership

May 21, 2014November 6, 2019John SchinnererUncategorized

Thanks to Triple Pundit and writer Sarah Lozanova for this article on sociocracy as an organizational structure for distributed leadership, featuring some comments from TSCG’s former CEO Jerry Koch-Gonzalez. Lozanova mentions MacGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y of human motivation, saying “Theory Y depicts employees as intrinsically motivated with a participatory approach to problem-solving…Although the…Continue reading

Dynamic Governance for Nonprofit Organizations

January 12, 2014November 6, 2019John SchinnererUncategorized

There’s a new publication on our resources page! “Dynamic Governance for Nonprofit Organizations,” by John Buck and Jerry Koch-Gonzalez, explains how the principles of dynamic governance, also known as sociocracy, apply to nonprofit organizations, and serves as a supplement to the article “The Creative Forces of Self-Organization.” We appreciate your feedback for improving how we…Continue reading

TSCG presents at International Leadership Association Conference 2013

November 26, 2013November 6, 2019John SchinnererUncategorized

TSCG members were active contributors to the 2013 ILA conference in Montreal. John Buck and Jerry Koch-Gonzalez presented on public leadership with the workshop Intentional Neighborhoods: Key to Regional Resilience. John Buck was also a co-presenter in the area of business leadership, joining Lynne Williams and Ryan Siemer of TW Telecomm, Inc. in offering Transformational…Continue reading

National Council of Nonprofits guest post – Dynamic Leadership

November 25, 2013November 6, 2019John SchinnererUncategorized

In October 2013, TSCG member Sheella Mierson was featured as a guest author on the National Council of Nonprofits blog Nonprofits Matter. Her post addresses “Dynamic Leadership” and explores how the right decision-making process can make your organization smarter than any one leader or even a small leadership team. Read the article her post was based on…Continue reading

Both And Governance

December 10, 2011December 10, 2011John SchinnererUncategorized

In recent weeks, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and numerous local and regional Occupy actions in the USA have brought ideas of “horizontal” governance into more common awareness. Occupy groups have mostly modeled themselves on the original OWS model, where “General Assemblies” that operate through a form of active, often large-group consensus are a primary means…Continue reading

The Solyndra Shutdown – Who Knew?

September 14, 2011September 14, 2011John SchinnererUncategorized

On the last day of August 2011, high-tech photovoltaics manufacturer Solyndra abruptly shut down. The cutting-edge solar power technology company announced it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Employees were turned away when they arrived for work that morning; in total, 1,100 full and part-time personnel were laid off overnight. Based in California, Solyndra…

Fewer Meetings, Better Decisions

We adopted sociocracy and all of a sudden there is a room full of empowered people helping make decisions. People feel different. I’d say that at the end of 100% of our circle meetings - where we set policy - everyone says, 'My goodness. I feel so much more energized.' We have fewer meetings over time as we’ve implemented sociocracy, the decisions are better, and the follow-through is better because everyone’s on board.

Paul Kervick, Outreach Coordinator and Board Member, Vermont

Skills for Community Success

...My ability to successfully navigate a meeting has grown significantly, and our community’s meetings are much more productive now. It was great to have a small class with such skilled, experienced, and responsive instructors...This is the first time in an online class that I felt so engaged, learned so much, and received so much value and personal attention. I highly recommend this class (Facilitating Sociocracy) for anyone who wants to improve their understanding, experience, skills, and enjoyment of sociocratic facilitation.

Hope V. Horton, Hart’s Mill Ecovillage, North Carolina

Increased Profits the First Year

Sociocracy has made a big difference in Creative Urethanes’ ability to withstand the economic downturn. We saw increased profits within the first year of using the method. Over time we have applied it to many areas of the company. As a result we have better communication throughout the company, lower employee turnover, more energy in staff members due to increased involvement, more creative ideas that help us thrive in our industry, and continuous improvement within the organization. Best for me is I have more assistance—having everyone’s help during hard economic times has lifted some weight off my shoulders.

Richard Heitfield, President, Creative Urethanes, Winchester, Virginia

Better Model for the Children

We're always talking to the children about being creative. We're always wanting them to be inspired and to use their own intuition and creativity. Now they're seeing a much better model among the adults in the organization because we're being more creative and we're working together in a much better fashion than we were before.

Renee Owen, Executive Director, Rainbow Community School, Asheville, North Carolina

An Innovative Community Leader

Before adopting sociocracy, Rainbow Community School had a flagging reputation and struggled to fill empty enrollment slots. Since adopting sociocracy, enrollment has almost doubled and there is a long waitlist. The size of its campus has doubled, and the school has gained a reputation for being an innovative community leader.

Renee Owen, Executive Director, Rainbow Community School, Asheville, North Carolina